Awesome!

5 minutes to type up what i've just done in the internet cafe at the Hermatage hotel is not enough really, but that's all i've got.

Kiwi's use the word 'awesome' an awful lot, for the simplest of things like handing over your $4 for a pint of milk, but heading up towards mount Cook in a helicopter before landing on a snow shelf and having a wander around finally does the word justice. It truly was, and well worth the 100 quid plus per person it cost. Hopefully the girls will remember this for ever...i will.

The views are simply stunning, the landscape almost lunar. I can't wait to upload the photos. And in truth, going in a helicopter was excitement enough. I was dumbstruck for a while after we landed.

it's great to be on the road, as Wanaka, with it's two streets, had become a little familiar. Ahen we get back i hope to build up to Xmas and have fun that way, then i've only a couple of days before heading home. I'm told the UK is miserable right now...really looking forward to returning then.

The journal is going ok, although i'm about 10 days behind. Will publish idc.

See you soon

JH

hello hello

typing this in liz's aunt angela's fabulous house, 70km outside of melbourne. it's fantastic. From the veranda on the first floor (yes, as opposed to one on the groundfloor) you can see the ocean and the city centre across the bay.

reeling still from the cricket defeat today, which was on the radio on the way back from the city. You HAVE to come down here, it's brill.

San Fran was superb, Auckland wasn't much of a city tbh, but there are fantastic places around it. Drove 1000km in 3 days. This included the ace hairpins of the coromandel peninsula, which i loved driving, and made all my passengers car sick.

i'm keeping the journal, and will publish on return. online time hard to come by. Speaking of which...

til NZ (Monday we fly there) where hopefully I'll have more leisure time to update.

loveto all

J

Last day

Walking toward this office this morning it finally hit home that it will be my last day in work for a month. A broad grin suddenly took shape as I went past Minshull Street Crown Court, which may have looked odd as

a) it was chucking it down

b) it's only Wednesday after all, officially the worst working day of the week*

c) no-one smiles at 8 o clock in the morning (expect the local bus loon)



Now if I can only persuade someone in authority to let me have an early dart...












*this has been measured by a team of boffins at some over funded University in Nebraska, probably. My research however is based on me being away for a week - Wednesday is when you wish you were at home the most.